* U.S. payrolls fall less than expected in August
* But yen remains strong and weighs on confidence
* Nikkei's next targets seen at 9,273, then 9,460
By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.5 percent on Monday, gaining for a fourth day after fewer-than-expected U.S. job losses in August bolstered optimism that the U.S. economy would not fall back into recession.
The Nikkei has recovered about 5 percent this month following a 7.5 percent slide in August but remains one of the worst performing major world stock markets this year, hurt by worries about the impact of the yen's strength on corporate earnings and the fragile economic recovery.
"The jobs data was better than expected but it's not as if it improved drastically. And as a result, there hasn't been a reversal in the yen's strength," said Masayuki Otani, chief market analyst at Securities Japan, Inc.
"Worries about the strong yen are the biggest reason why the benchmark is finding it difficult to go higher. Market players remain on alert as they don't know what would happen if dollar/yen trades at the 83 yen level again."
The benchmark Nikkei gained 138.49 points to 9,252.62, with some market participants citing buying by domestic investors and short-covering by foreigners playing the market with a short-term outlook.
It rose 0.6 percent on Friday and added 1.4 percent last week for its biggest weekly gain in nearly two months.
But the Nikkei is down about 12 percent this year, compared with the MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan which is almost flat on the year, although it is outperforming a 18 percent drop in Chinese stocks.
The broader Topix rose 1.2 percent to 833.91.
With the Nikkei above 9,227, around its 25-day moving average, the next target is seen at 9,273, which is its kijun-sen on its daily Ichimoku charts.
The kijun-sen is an indicator of medium-term trends and can be either support or resistance. Ichimoku charts are popular with Japanese traders.
Further resistance is seen at around 9,460, where the bottom of its Ichimoku cloud lies, while support lies at 9,038, its tenkan sen, an indicator of short-term trends.
In early Asia trade, the dollar was trading at 84.39 yen. The dollar hit a 15-year low of 83.58 yen on electronic trading platform EBS late last month on fears the U.S. economic recovery was stalling.
U.S. stocks added more than 1 percent on Friday. U.S. payrolls fell for a third straight month in August, the Labor Department said, but the loss of 54,000 non-farm jobs was far less than the 100,000 expected by economists polled by Reuters, and private hiring surprised on the upside.
But while risk appetite rose on the payrolls report, Tokyo market players said weak data on national services from the Institute for Supply Management was weighing on investor confidence.
The Bank of Japan's two-day rate review that ends on Tuesday is a focus in the market this week.
"The central bank will likely keep the status quo as worries about the U.S. economy have receded, but the BOJ governor's briefing afterwards is a major focus," said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equity marketing at Nikko Cordial Securities.
EXPORTERS BUOY
Shares of exporters that are particularly sensitive to the health of the global economy led gains.
Kyocera Corp climbed 2.8 percent to 7,690 yen and TDK Corp jumped 3.3 percent to 4,795 yen. Tokyo Electron Ltd was up 2.4 percent at 4,100 yen.
Elpida Memory shot up 6.4 percent to 1,010 yen after Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities began coverage of the PC memory maker with a "1" rating, a recommendation to buy the stock.
Senior analyst Masahiko Ishino said Elpida would likely benefit from strong mobile DRAM demand for smartphones and a public offering of shares in Taiwanese subsidiary Rexchip Electronics Corp expected in the coming years. (Editing by Edwina Gibbs)